At first, only three hours of satellite programming were broadcast per day, but by December 2000, the station was broadcasting around the clock.

The station is operated by inmates and carries some satellite programming.

Lawyers and civil-liberties experts said the case was the first in which such a law was applied to national satellite programming.

When a Montenegrin democrat was asked what the impact of satellite programming might be, he needed only a single word: "Incredible!"

Later that year, it launched nationwide domestic satellite programming and by 1994, expanded its operations worldwide.

All three are profitable, yet none has one of the "gimmick" formats mentioned in the piece or relies on satellite programming.

He was replaced by John Mainelli and at that point they dropped satellite programming.

The company reports a dramatic increase in the last year in the percentage of people buying decoders who pay for satellite programming.

Last year, about 75 percent of the people who bought decoders paid for satellite programming, compared with 48 percent in 1988, the company said.

Cumberland has several media outlets; most carry some form of satellite programming.